Jackfruit Tacos

Jackfruit might seem a strange, unfamiliar fruit to those of you who aren’t from Bangladesh, India, or Thailand, where it is used in daily cooking. However, it is a multifaceted, healthy choice for people searching for meat alternatives or who just want to expand their horizons in the food world. Our taco is accidentally vegan, but you can certainly add cheese or anything else that you like to challenge that vegan status and make it your own.

Now you may be looking at pictures of a jackfruit on the internet, feeling slightly intimidated by the look of the thing and worried you won’t be able to figure out how to cut it open. Fear not! For this recipe, it is best to use canned young, green jackfruit. You want to use the kind in a brine, not a syrup. The brine is much easier to rinse away and deal with, syrup not so much. This eliminates the challenge of trying to figure out how to extract the insides from this fascinating fruit. You will have to do some cutting, but it’s easier than you might anticipate.

This is a neutral tasting fruit and our taste testers liked that it absorbed the flavors of the other ingredients nicely, especially the flavor from our Al Pastor Taco Seasoning. Jackfruit is really interesting in the way that it is a fruit but it is cooked like meat. In Southeast Asian cultures, it actually acts as a meat substitute for many vegetarian and vegan dishes. The texture is nice and not as soft as other fruits, so it doesn’t get as mushy when you cook with it.

Cut jackfruit into small pieces, cutting from the core outward. This will help achieve the shredded look.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium- high heat. Add onions, garlic and sauté until browned and softened. Add jackfruit, broth, coconut sugar, lime juice, and Al Pastor Seasoning and stir well. Cook at a simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by half.

Mash jackfruit with a potato masher until it looks shredded. If it’s dry, add broth. If it’s wet, cook a bit longer.